Bit disappointed and need help

I went to see a 996 turbo at an indie in the North of England this afternoon which looked good and drove very well. It is a 2002 model and has 20,000 miles. When I parked the car at the end of the test drive, I thought this is it, I am going to buy it and pay the deposit now. Back to the showroom, I asked to review the papers, services book etc. When I reviewed the services book I noticed that the car was registered in July 2002, had a first service in October 2003 but then no other service before January 2006. I thought that it was important for these cars to be serviced every year. To be fair to the car owner, he only drove 7000 miles from October 2003 to January 2006 which maybe explains why he did not bother having his car serviced. After January 2006, the car was serviced every year. It was sold to someone else in April 2006. Despite what the indie told me, this issue (the fact that the car had not been serviced for nearly 3 years) really worried me and as a result I did not buy it. Saying this, if I had bought the car, the purchase would have been subject to Peter Morgan's inspection and I would have asked for a Porsche warranty with a 111 check points. I am right to be worried about this issue or should I not bother and buy the car ?

I am by no means an expert on this but I suspect that this lack of servicng might affect a future warranty claim, particularly if Porsche feel the dameage could have been caused by the lack of maintenance.... At the moment beause of the economic situation there are a lot on the market at "reasonable" prices and if you want my advice, you are buying a high performance car, it has to be right!! I would hang on.....

agreed, the service clock is very important as it's not necessarily miles that are the factor I dont do the average miles per year but still get it serviced every year

IIRC service is yearly or 12k miles, which ever comes first so even with 7k miles it should have still had a yearly service. Now I may be wrong here but OPC won't warranty a car that hasn't been correctly serviced. Then again when I got my warranty they didn't even check the service book. As a side note, these cars are ment to be driven to be in good health. A PPI would be an absolute must.

Porsche do an annual check for cars that have not covered 12k miles. It costs quite a lot less than a minor service, but it listed in their service "menu" brochure. 3 years is quite some time, but I wouldn't be particularly bothered if it was only, say 18 months. Cheers, GD

I'd suggest going for it if you can use the discrepency to bag a bargain. Porsche will do a 111 point check and stick a warranty on it if it passes. The warranty validity then depends on FUTURE servicing in accordance with the published schedule. Focus on the non-warrantied items as you'll be out of pocket if they need work soon after buying the car. Brakes, tyres, exhausts, suspension. Good luck with your search either way.

I's agree, a gap in servicing doesn't necessarily make it a bad car, if Porsche put a warranty on and you get a good deal you should be fine. Am annual service isn't much more than an oil change anyway?& 7000 miles isn't a lot.

Just out of interest is this stamped in the book? I thought they only put major and minor service stamps in? Are there any receipts for the interim period at all?

I think Porsche puts stamps for annual checks.

As I understand it, for my 996 C2, there are 3 tickboxes in the service book next to the space for each stamp. One of which is the annual check (or words to that effect). An annual check can only replace a minor service. After a major service you can have either: - an Annual Check if you've done low mileage or - a minor service. After either of those you must have a major service. Clear as mud! 8)

Shows how often I look in my service book But then with 98,000 miles in less than 9 years that was never going to be an issue with mine

What you mean you actually drive your car?! The rest of us just peer in to the garage occasionally and read the service book for a bit of enthralment PS. Not really mine's a daily driver!

I would support Senoj opinion in this case and I would not be put off by this period of no service in view of only a 7000 mile interval. Regards Big Bob

If it passes a 111 point check and is elligible for a warranty despite the service history + you can negotiate a suitable reduction in price then go for it.

Servicing is done at a minimum of annually for a few reasons. Oil, gets mixed with water from condensation, gets fuel contamination and particulates from the burn process. Most importantly though at it's age, when was the brake fluid done? It sounds like it went between 3-4 years without a brake fluid change. This could (but not likely though) cause corrosion in the brake system. Max interval for brake fluid is due to water absorption, the corrosion the water causes and the fluid boiling point it reduces..... Those items aside, really, it doesn't matter. Get a bargain and don't fret. Jamie does great finance too!